Arrest warrant issued for Stonewood defendant

An arrest warrant was issued Monday for Murrieta resident Helen Pedrino, who is on trial in Riverside Superior Court for her alleged role in the notorious Stonewood mortgage scam that rocked Southwest County last decade, after failing to show up in court for the second hearing in a row.

Her son, Hendrix Montecastro of Baltimore, told Judge Jeffrey Prevost that Pedrino, 61, was taken to a San Diego-area hospital over the weekend because of chest pain, numbness in both arms and head pain, and was home in bed Monday morning recovering after her blood pressure rocketed to 221 over 101.

Montecastro had previously explained her Friday absence as the result of being rushed to the emergency room at Riverside County Regional Medical Center in Moreno Valley for what he said were stroke symptoms.

"She was throwing up, she was nauseous and she collapsed twice when she got home," Montecastro said Monday in court.

Montecastro also is being tried in connection with the Stonewood investment scheme that authorities say was centered in Murrieta and Temecula, and bilked banks and homeowners out of $143 million at the height of the housing boom.

Pedrino, a nurse, has been described by witnesses as a primary recruiter for the scheme, signing up nurses, members of her church and friends in the Filipino community.

Montecastro and his mother do not have attorneys and are representing themselves. They were due to begin laying out their case Friday.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Vicki Hightower wrapped up the case for the prosecution two days earlier. The trial got under way in late November.

Hightower said she believed the trips to the hospital were orchestrated by Pedrino to delay the trial. She produced a report from Sharp Grossmount Hospital in La Mesa, saying there was nothing in it to suggest Pedrino was incapable of appearing in court.

"The events that Mr. Montecastro is describing are fascinating, but there is nothing to document it," Hightower said.